The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community. With almost 500 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated 30% share (US$18.4 trillion in 2008) of the nominal gross world product.

WHAT IS REALY THE EUROPEAN UNION???

The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all Member States, ensuring the freedom of movement of people, goods, services, and capital. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development.

A FEW THINGS ABOUT EUROPEAN UNION

Sixteen Member States have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting the Eurozone. The EU has developed a limited role in foreign policy, having representation at the WTO, G8, G20 and at the UN.

It enacts legislation in justice and home affairs, including the abolition of passport controls between many Member States which form part of the Schengen Area.

After the end of the Second World War, moves towards European integration were seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had devastated the continent. One such attempt to unite Europeans was the European Coal and Steel Community which, while having the modest aim of centralised control of the previously national coal and steel industries of its Member States, was declared to be "a first step in the federation of Europe“.

The originators and supporters of the Community include Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul Henri Spaak and Alcide de Gasperi. The founding members of the Community were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany.

THE BEGINNING OF THE UNION

In 1973 the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Norway had negotiated to join at the same time but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum and so Norway remained outside.. Greece joined in 1981, and Spain and Portugal in 1986. In 1985 the Schengen Agreement led the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between most Member States and some non-Member States. In 1986 the European flag began to be used by the Community and the Single European Act was signed. In 1995 Austria, Sweden and Finland joined the newly established EU. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary joined the Union

MEMBERS OF THE UNION

The European Union is composed of 27 sovereign Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Including the overseas territories of Member States, the EU experiences most types of climate from Arctic to tropical, rendering meteorological averages for the EU as a whole meaningless. The majority of the population lives in areas with a Mediterranean climate (Southern Europe), a temperate maritime climate (Western Europe), or a warm summer continental or hemiboreal climate (Eastern Europe).

CLIMATE OF EUROPE

On this date the euro was duly launched by eleven of the then fifteen Member States of the EU. It remained an accounting currency until 1 January 2002, when euro notes and coins were issued and national currencies began to phase out in the eurozone, which by then consisted of twelve Member States. The eurozone has since grown to sixteen countries, the most recent being Slovakia which joined on 1 January 2009.

16 EU countries have introduced the euro as default currency.

The European Central Bank in Frankfurt governs the eurozone's monetary policy.

The creation of a European single currency became an official objective of the EU in 1969. However, it was only with the advent of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 that Member States were legally bound to start the monetary union no later than 1 January 1999.

Thessaloniki or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. It is honorarily called the Συμπρωτεύουσα Symprotevousa (lit. co-capital) of Greece, as it was once called the συμβασιλεύουσα symvasilevousa (co-queen) of the Byzantine Empire.

THESSALONIKI

THE WHITE TOWER

The Arch of Galerius (Kamara) stands on Egnatia Avenue.

The Roman odeum in the Ancient Agora

The building of Bank of Greece in Thessaloniki

The statue of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon).

OUR SCHOOL

Prohoma is found 35 kilometres of north-westernly Thessaloniki above in the old national road Thessaloniki - Evzonon. Administratively it belongs in the Municipality Koufalia. The population today is 1300 residents. In the village exist kindergarten, municipal school, high school

and lyceum, as well as rural surgery. The residents in their majority come from the Kars of Pontus, but exist also

refugees from other regions of Pontus as the Santa, the Orntoy' and elsewhere. Even today most residents speak pontiaka', cook traditional foods, they dance pontiakous

dances and singing aims that they brought from the alismoniti homeland. Even the marriages become with the traditional way. In the village they live also few families

Vlahos from Big Levadia of prefecture Kilkis the village it was founded in 1922 with came the refugees. Up to then, in the region where it was built the village they existed small settlements of Turks. The old name of village was

Dogantsi, while his current name, Prohoma, is connected with the peculiarity of village where exist a lot of

earthworks. Two kilometres outside from the village passes the Worthy river. It has abundant fishes and enough they

deal amateur with the fishing. Worthy they are base for the summer cultures of village. At the duration of time took shape "islets" with wild flora and fauna. Above in them

exist wild horses, wild boars, snakes and enough species of birds.

OUR VILLAGE